A Perfect Goodbye
by StRaWbErrY KaWAii
Summary: The last chance to say goodbye. It's Christmas in the Seventh Year of Lily and the Marauders. Everyone trying to make this the perfect goodbye. James trying to get his girl and the Marauders leaving behind a legacy never to be forgotten.


A Perfect Goodbye

Chapter One: She's Different

Disclaimer: I own nothing. There. Happy?!

Author's Notes:

Okay, well, I'm back! This is a different type of fic. Lily and the Marauders have six months before they have to say goodbye. And Lily and James still hate each other. But, they like each other at the same time?! When the second chapter comes out, I promise more action and everything else!

~~~~~

Snow was gently falling on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Young witches and wizards were playing in the snow. On the Quidditch Pitch, however, were four figures adorned in the Gryffindor colors of red and gold. Two were on broomsticks, throwing the Quaffle between them, one occasionally taking the position of Keeper to guard the baskets from the other. The other two were in the stands, animatedly chatting to one another.

James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were the names of these boys as individuals. Although, to the rest of the school, the only thing that mattered was their name as a group because they were inseparable. These four were the most popular boys in school. They played pranks, they charmed the school, and they brought life and laughter to the dreary stonewalls. Not to mention the fact that James, Sirius, and Remus were the most handsome boys in school. They were attending their Seventh and Final year at Hogwarts. They planned on taking the Quidditch Cup and making this a year that no one, no matter what House you belonged to, would ever forget. For, together, they were the Marauders, who could do anything and get out of the punishment for it. Needless to say, they held the school record for most detentions, well; James did, although Sirius was catching up.

Peter Pettigrew was by far the odd one out. He just wasn't as spectacularly incredible as the other three. The word to describe him would be: normal. He still had quite a bit of 'baby fat' (which should just be called fat), but he wasn't overly obese, being the shortest of his friends didn't help at all either. He still held the round face of his childhood. His light blonde hair was always neat and tidy, which lacked the unruly quality the others Marauders had. He wasn't talkative, but he wasn't quiet. He needed the help of the others to pass his classes, but he too wasn't stupid. As stated earlier, he was normal. The only special thing about him was that he was one of the Marauders. And, for the moment, that was enough for Peter. To the Marauders, he was Wormtail, and that name brought him a large smile whenever it was called.

Remus Lupin looked at one of his best friends, Peter Pettigrew with a weary eye. They were in the Quidditch stands and they were quietly discussing Lily Evans, the girl Peter's liked since he first laid eyes on her in First Year. Remus was extremely handsome. His dirty blonde hair grazed his ears, and he did his best to keep it looking at least halfway presentable. His blue eyes held the depth of a mystery that he was hiding, yet they twinkled in a teasing way, saying that you'll never know the secret he keeps. He was tall, but only about an inch taller than Peter, making him reach about 6' 1''. Like James, he was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Though, he wasn't nearly as dedicated as James or Sirius. Remus was quiet, but he was a good listener. Before he came to Hogwarts, he didn't have any friends. Now, he was popular, but his only true friends were still the Marauders. Whenever he heard his special nickname, Moony, he smiled as he remembered his best friends.

* In the Air*

"Jamesie!"

"Call me that again, Sirius, and watch what happens!" James shouted to his best friend as he threw the Quaffle rather hard. Sirius just gave a smirk as he zoomed off. Sirius was the most mischievous of the four. His dark eyes sparkle with an eternal joy and love of life. He was well built, as was James, after all the hard hours on the Quidditch Pitch. He was the tallest of the group, reaching about 6' 3''. His black hair tickled the back of his neck, and he kept it looking presentable whenever he could. With the Marauders, he was known as Padfoot.

James Potter was the hottest, most popular, most egotistical boy in school. His chocolate colored eyes were usually warm and welcoming, even his glasses couldn't hide the mischief that always shone in them, like the other Marauders. His height was in the middle of the others. He reached about 6' 2''. His hair was a black mass that he always messed up. It gave him the look that he just walked off of the Quidditch Pitch, and he loved that look. He was more or less the leader of the Marauders. Sirius came up with the ideas, Remus knew exactly what spells to use and how to get them out of trouble, and Peter was usually the diversion. James contributed in all these at different times; depending on what mood he was in. Lily Evans and him have been mortal enemies since the same moment Peter fell in love with her.

~~~~~

Lily Evans was sitting in the Gryffindor common room in her favorite seat by the fire, reading one of her favorite Muggle books. She had fairly long red hair that reached to the middle of her back. However, her most notable feature was her eyes. They were a piercing green, but they always betrayed her true emotions. She was very beautiful and caring towards some people. To others, like James Potter, she is the cynical and sarcastic Ice Queen. James has been playing pranks on her since their First Year. However, his newest development is to profess his newly found everlasting love.

"That prat," Lily cursed through clenched teeth as she closed her book loudly, making the others in the common room jump.

"Thinking of the infinitely handsome, James Potter, are we?" Lily's best friend, Arabella Figg appeared behind her. Lily was not the most popular girl, but definitely not the social outcast.

"He's ruined my life, Bella! Why did he have to choose me to torture this week? WHY ME?! I've done a good job avoiding him for like...ever!"

"Did you ever stop and think that after getting to know you, the hard way no less, these past six and half years, he might actually like you?"

"Nearly every girl in school hates me, just for being the one thing he wants that he can't have! Which is highly unlikely because he's an idiot wrapped in a moron driven by hormones who doesn't know WHAT HE BLOODY WANTS!"

"Well, nearly every guy in school likes you..."

"Not helping..."

~~~~~

"Sirius…what am I going to do? I think that I might actually…" James started to say, he held the Quaffle in his hands as his broom started to slow down and drift towards the ground. Knowing his friend desired conversation, Sirius started to drift with him.

"Actually what? LOSE the Quidditch Cup?! Dear God…not this speech again…"

"I'm serious, here!"

"There, you are wrong again, mate, for *I* am Sirius," he ended with a smirk at his own overly used joke.

"Then, act it a little more often, would ya?"

"Fine, fine. Be _serious_," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"It's…Lily…"

"OI!" Sirius hit his head with his hand as he pretended to faint backwards so he could lie on his broomstick. They were still a hundred feet from the ground. They weren't falling anymore, just hovering in around the same spot. "It's just a girl, mate. Sure, your mortal enemy, but still…a girl."

"She's not JUST a girl…I think, I might actually be serious about this one."

"We've lost you, mate," Sirius bowed his head and patted his friend's shoulder apologetically.

"Maybe, I'm just tired of having a different girl every week hang all over me. Lily's not like that. For six and a half years, she has been the one thing that I couldn't have. She never even acted like she cared who I was. Not since the first day we met," James was now staring at Gryffindor Tower, imagining what she could be doing at this exact moment.

"UGH! Stop it, before I imagine totally losing my best friend!" Sirius pushed James to wake him up…a little…too hard.

"SIRIUS!" James called as he quickly fell towards the ground.

Sirius just gazed at his friend and uttered a quick and distant, "Oops…"

~~~~~

"What about Peter?" Arabella was now in another chair by the fire with Lily, her book long forgotten. Arabella had soft blue eyes and brown hair that reached a little past her shoulders. The ends curled out into many little layers.

"What about him?"

"He likes you too, you know," Arabella gave Lily a sly look.

"UGH! You're joking. Even James is better than Peter," Lily gave a disgusted look as she and Arabella started to giggle.

"Well, two of the Marauders like you, Remus has always been one of your friends, and Sirius is…decent," Arabella started to blush at the mention of Sirius.

"Oh, don't even start listing the qualities of Black. If I had my way with him, he and James would be off of a cliff!"

"So harsh…"

~~~~~

"Oops…"

Peter and Remus snapped from their conversation at the sound of James shouting to Sirius. Remus quickly jumped up and whipped out his wand. He leaned over the Quidditch Pitch and shouted the first charm that came to his mind. "AVIARUM!"

James suddenly stopped in midair, and he let out a long breath he didn't realize he was holding. His nose was inches from the ground. His hands were held up by his sides, palms down to try and stop the impact. His glasses fell off and James suddenly fell to the ground with a loud CRACK.

"Nice Hover Charm, Moony! Now look what you did!" Sirius shouted from his broomstick, still a good ten feet above James, in case he attempted some strange revenge.

"I'm not the one who knocked him off his broom, now am I?" Remus replied with a smirk and jumped over the wall that was the barrier between the Pitch and the bleachers. He ran over to his friend who was now looking at his crushed glasses.

"Accio Broom," James yelled as he held up his arm, ready to catch the speeding object. "Oculus repairo," James silently said as he watched for the thousandth time his glasses magically repair themselves. He put them on, and jumped on his broom. He glared at Sirius.

"Cheers?" Sirius said with an awkward smile as James raced after him yelling:

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, PADFOOT!"

~~~~~

"Bella…" Lily reluctantly started after staring into the fire for the past five minutes. Arabella was babbling about some useless nonsense…something to do with Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Thinking about James, again? I can see it in your eyes…you like him too."

{God, Arabella, you have no idea how right you are…}

{ARGH! Shut up! You do NOT like JAMES POTTER!}

{This is my last chance to finally tell him how I've felt for six years…}

{Look, he never has to know about these feelings THAT DON'T EXIST!}

"Is it so wrong to like him?"

"HA! I knew it! I KNEW IT!" a few second years in the corner just eyed them both, and shrugged their shoulders.

"But, it isn't anything serious!" Lily whipped out her wand and pointed it to Arabella "Whisper a word or the edge of a word of this to ANYONE, and I will hunt you down, Bella!"

"Oh, you underestimate me, Lils, that cuts deep," Arabella put her hand to her chest and pretended to faint into the recesses of the chair.

"Oh, no I don't. Every bit of gossip in this entire school, you know and you tell. Well, this is one secret you will not tell. Not anyone. Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, promise," Arabella said nonchalantly.

~Later that Night, at Dinner~

"Wow! Can you believe it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, Lils?" James was endlessly raving to the girl who sat in front of him. Well, actually, James came and sat in front of her. Sirius sat to the left of James and in front of Arabella, he flashed her a charming smile and she blushed a bright crimson. Remus sat to James's right and Peter was next to Remus, filling his plate as quickly as possible.

"That would make this the Eve of Christmas Eve, wouldn't it, Moony?" Sirius said across the table as he reached to fill his goblet with pumpkin juice.

"Well, not exactly, but if you want to keep thinking that…" Remus just smiled as Sirius was raving on and on to Arabella about how this HAD to be the Eve of Christmas Eve. She listened attentively, well, her eyes just sort of glazed over, but Sirius thought she was listening attentively.

"Arabella, stop drooling and get your elbow out of your potatoes," Lily smirked as her friend woke up from her trance.

"So, Lily-" James started, but was cut off.

"No."

"But, I didn't even say anything yet!"

Lily glanced up from her food and looked at James. Her usually bright eyes were dark as she remembered just how annoying he was.

{And you thought you LIKED the guy?}

{Ah, well, my mistake, I'm not perfect…}

"I know exactly what you're going to ask, and the answer is no, and it will always be NO NO NO!"

"But, Lily! It's Christmas! Please, just ONE DATE! I'll make sure you won't forget it!" Lily rolled her eyes and glanced to her right to see Sirius and Arabella having an animated conversation. To her left, she saw Remus talking to a girl from Hufflepuff. And, there was Peter, stealing glances from Lily every now and then. Lily shuddered at the thought.

"NO!" Lily was now standing, but no one in the Great Hall noticed. After six and a half years of this happening nearly every day, you grow accustomed to it. James got up also, and his eyes shone with a determination and a slight annoyance.

"Please, Lily, why do you keep running?"

{Because…I do want a date…but…I'm afraid…}

James grabbed her hands and continued, "Is it because you like me too? Are you afraid to fall in love with me? I won't hurt you…I promise…"

{Bingo…}

Lily angrily ripped her hands from his grip, and grabbed her goblet, "NO!" she tossed the pumpkin juice into his face and ran out of the Great Hall. Arabella quickly ran after her and James sat down, dripping wet.

Sirius patted him on the shoulder, "Yup, no doubt she's different."

"Why does she keep running…" James performed a quick Drought Charm to dry up the pumpkin juice.

"Might I suggest that you stop pointing out why she runs," Remus chimed in, but added quickly, "at least while she's in earshot."

"She's just being difficult." Peter added.

"This is your last chance, mate." Sirius looked at his friend.

"We need a plan…"

~~~~~

"Lily! Lily, wait!" Arabella started running after her best friend. She was already at the top of the staircase. Lily looked back at her friend and just fell down in tears.

"Why am I crying? Why does he do this to me?" Lily fit in between sobs. Arabella came to her friend and gave her a big hug.

"What did he say?"

"He said…he _assumed_," Lily sniffled as she dried her eyes," that I keep running from him, because I'm afraid of being hurt…"

"Are you?" Arabella held her at arm's length to look into her eyes. Lily knew this strategy and she looked at her feet.

"Yes…"

"How about…just one date? This is your last chance. In six months, we'll be pursuing our own lives. You might not ever get to see him again."

The realization finally hit Lily. "You're right, Bella. Oh, I've wasted six years, six YEARS, on hating him, and now I have six months to become friends."

"Or more!" Arabella smiled as she hugged her friend.

"Uh, let's just aim for on speaking terms."

"Hm, well, there's no doubt that the Marauders have some sort of plan. So, next time he asks you out, promise you'll think about it, at least. Or, you'll never forgive yourself, Lils."

"Well, it IS the Eve of Christmas Eve," she said with a smile and the girls laughed as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower.

~~~~~

Sorry, that chapter was really short, and I promise that there is a plot. And about Lily Among the Thorns, there were just so many problems with it, and I just got so busy. I'll do my best to update that soon. Please review and tell me what you think, I know there isn't anything to think about at the moment, but believe me, there will be. I'm pulling the old dreams from Lily Among the Thorns into this fic as well, so all the ideas for that fic that I never got around to will most likely be put here. Well, tell me what you think, and if you have any ideas, feel free to share. Later dayz.

StRaWbErrYkAwAii 


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